Over 100 arrested outside U.N. amid mass protest of Netanyahu’s speech

Alexandra Martinez

Sep 28, 2026

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More than 100 people were taken into custody in New York City on Sept. 24 as protesters gathered near the United Nations to oppose Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s appearance before the General Assembly.

The protest, organized by Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), followed a week of protests leading up to Netanyahu’s visit organized by the Palestinian Youth Movement.

The JVP-organized protest brought together Jewish anti-Zionist activists, elected officials, congressional candidates, celebrities, and other New Yorkers. The New York Police Department said 103 people were taken into custody, issued summonses for disorderly conduct, and released after demonstrators blocked traffic near the U.N. Organizers said nine of those detained were elected officials or candidates.

Among those detained were Democratic congressional nominee Darializa Avila Chevalier, City Councilmembers Chi Ossé and Alexa Avilés, state Assemblymember Emily Gallagher, and comedian Caleb Hearon. Actors and advocates including Susan Sarandon and Hannah Einbinder were also detained.

JVP said more than 400 people participated in the action. The protest blocked part of First Avenue ahead of Netanyahu’s address, with demonstrators wearing shirts bearing messages including “Fund people not bombs.” 

Protesters demanded Netanyahu’s arrest, referencing his International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant for war crimes and crimes against humanity, and called on U.S. leaders to cut off military funding and weapons shipments to Israel. 

During Netanyahu’s speech to the General Assembly, he rejected that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza, calling the allegation the “greatest lie of the century” and saying Israel has taken steps to protect Palestinian civilians. Several major human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and B’Tselem, as well as the International Association of Genocide Scholars, have concluded that Israel’s actions in Gaza constitute a genocide. 

Netanyahu also criticized New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, accusing him of spreading lies about Israel and saying, “Many Jews no longer feel safe in New York.”

Mamdani responded in a statement by accusing Netanyahu of repeating what he called “baseless lies meant to sanitize his genocide of Palestinians.” He also said the Israeli prime minister remained subject to the ICC arrest warrant.

During his 2025 campaign for mayor, Mamdani repeatedly said he would seek to arrest Netanyahu if the Israeli prime minister came to New York, in accordance with the warrant. The pledge became a prominent part of Mamdani’s foreign policy platform and drew national attention.

But in July, after his administration examined whether the city could enforce the warrant, Mamdani acknowledged that New York City did not have the legal authority to carry out the arrest. He instead called on the federal government to enforce the warrant.

On the day of the protest, the mayor’s office released a video of Mamdani at Gracie Mansion with Palestinian families from Gaza. The group shared a meal and planted an olive tree together.

Palestinian American activist Nerdeen Kiswani wrote in an X post on Sept. 24 that Mamdani’s response represented a departure from his campaign rhetoric.

“This is the exact opposite of what Mamdani ran on,” Kiswani wrote. “He promised to arrest Netanyahu. Now Netanyahu is escorted to the UN by his NYPD while that same NYPD arrests people protesting him.”

Kiswani also criticized Mamdani for not joining demonstrations against Netanyahu. “Days before Netanyahu arrived, Mamdani said he would not even protest him and emphasized that he had ‘never encouraged’ New Yorkers to protest him,” she wrote. “Then today we get olive trees and symbolism while other people actually take to the streets.”

Mamdani said at a City Hall press conference before the visit that he had “never encouraged” New Yorkers to protest Netanyahu and emphasized protesters’ constitutional right to demonstrate.

The mayor’s video prompted criticism from Kiswani, who questioned whether the gesture adequately addressed the protests and the violence in Gaza.

“Is this really how y’all are talking about a genocide?” Kiswani wrote in response to some online praise for the video. “He’s sending a classy message to the butcher of Gaza and that’s acceptable?”

JVP, meanwhile, framed its demonstration as part of a broader campaign against U.S. support for Israel. In a post following the protest, the organization wrote, “Children everywhere—and all people—deserve to live in freedom, not in fear of bombs or missiles.”

The group directed supporters to its campaign calling on Congress to “fund people, not bombs.”

“We demand an end to the U.S.-Israel war machine from Gaza to the occupied West Bank, from Iran to Lebanon,” the group said.

Activists carried a large, white kite, symbolic of Gaza’s children, after the Israeli military last month declared children flying kites as “an act of terrorism” that could warrant forced expulsions.

The Palestinian Youth Movement  organized demonstrations throughout the week leading up to Netanyahu’s U.N. appearance. On Sept. 23, the group organized a protest outside the apartment of Israeli U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon, saying it opposed Israel’s participation in the General Assembly while the war in Gaza continued.

The group also criticized the extensive security measures surrounding Netanyahu’s visit, writing that “the NYPD and secret service are blocking off our city,” and that New Yorkers were “risking arrest” to protest. Thousands of protesters later marched toward U.N. headquarters in a separate action organized by the Palestinian Youth Movement and The People’s Forum.

Editorial Team:
Sahar Fatima, Lead Editor
Carolyn Copeland, Top Editor
Rashmee Kumar, Copy Editor